According to Israeli media reports, the freed hostages are nine children and two women. In exchange, 33 female and teenage Palestinian prisoners will be released. According to Qatar, the new group of freed hostages includes two German citizens, three French citizens and six Argentines. Israeli media reported that several Thai hostages in the Gaza Strip would also be released.
According to media reports, there had already been disagreements over the lists of names for the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. According to media reports, Israel criticized the fact that mothers were separated from their children.
It was the fourth group of hostages to be released since the ceasefire began on Friday. So far, 58 hostages have been released. In exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages, 117 Palestinians were released from custody.
debate
How does October 7th change the Middle East?
Israel cautious about ceasefire
The ceasefire in effect since Friday will be extended for two days, Majid al-Ansari, spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said on Monday. According to Portal, Hamas confirmed that it had agreed to a two-day extension with Qatar and Egypt.
The White House confirmed the agreement to extend the ceasefire. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said, according to the Times of Israel: “Nothing is final until it actually happens.” Gaza Strip. What the population there needs is “dramatic”.
USA: ceasefire for Hamas is part of the “calculation”
The US government hopes for a further extension of the ceasefire. “We want all the hostages to be released and this is the best way to free them,” National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby said Monday. “We are grateful to have two more days available (…). Of course we would like this pause to be extended until all hostages are released.”
Right now, the extension is about releasing 20 more hostages, Kirby said. The negotiations concern women and children. In general, deciding on a ceasefire is a balancing act, Kirby emphasized. “Any interruption in the fighting could be an advantage for the enemy.” The fact that Hamas will use any ceasefire to its benefit has always been part of the discussions and “part of the calculation”. At the same time, hostages could be released and aid supplies could reach the Gaza Strip during this period.
Egyptian security circles had previously reported a possible extension of the ceasefire. The head of Egypt’s state intelligence service, Diaa Raschwan, said a deal to release 20 Israeli hostages was imminent. In exchange, 60 Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons. Hamas requested an extension for another four days. Israel, on the other hand, declared that it would extend the ceasefire daily in exchange for the release of ten hostages per day.
USA: Not all hostages are in the hands of Hamas
US President Joe Biden said the ceasefire should last until all hostages are released. The European Union also commented accordingly. The US government now assumes that not all of the approximately 180 hostages still kidnapped in the Gaza Strip are being held by the Islamist Hamas.
“We believe that not all of the hostages are in the hands of Hamas,” Kirby said on US television on Monday morning (local time). Kirby didn’t give a number. CNN reported about 40 hostages, citing unnamed diplomatic sources. These could therefore be in the hands of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization or individuals.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is devastating
An extension of the ceasefire also means relief for the suffering population in the Gaza Strip. As part of the agreement, an increased number of trucks carrying aid supplies have now arrived in the Gaza Strip. According to humanitarian aid organizations, the humanitarian situation remains dramatic. 1.7 million people have been displaced due to fighting in the coastal zone isolated by Israel.
The Israeli army announced that it will continue its attacks for at least two more months after the ceasefire. The soldiers should prepare for the upcoming battles. According to Hamas, 15,000 people have been killed and more than 36,000 injured on the Palestinian side of the Gaza Strip since the start of the war. Currently, the numbers cannot be independently verified.
The last war in Gaza was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, committed by terrorists from the Gaza Strip in Israel, close to the border, on October 7th. More than 1,200 people were killed. Around 240 hostages were taken to Gaza, including a dual Austrian-Israeli citizen. Israel’s objective is the destruction of Hamas.